Consultation between the industry, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Federal Government on proposed “refinements” to the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA) will start within a few weeks. But the Government isn’t keen on putting a precise deadline for completing the changes that will make the FSRA more user-friendly.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer Chris Pearce told an Investment and Financial Services Association lunch in Melbourne last week he “would hope that the amending regulations would be in place before the end of the year”.

“I cannot be definitive about how long the process will apply in respect of the refinements put forward in the proposals paper,” he said. “It will depend on a degree on how many issues are raised in the various consultations and how readily the proposals can be translated into draft legislation.”

Mr Pearce says he likens the FSRA to a student who “shows great promise, but lacks a little in application”.